# Molecular and Structural Biology Program

> **NIH NIH P30** · UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE · 2022 · $34,494

## Abstract

12.0 Abstract: Molecular and Structural Biology (MSB) Program
The MSB Program is a highly innovative basic science research program at the University of Maryland Marlene
and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMGCCC) that aims to bring new agents to the clinic.
MSB members study mechanistic cancer-relevant questions at the cellular and molecular level and use these
discoveries to design novel cancer therapeutic strategies and drug candidates. These agents are then available
for testing in the clinical programs (ET, HRC, TII). MSB work is focused in three areas: Aim 1, Define
mechanisms of genomic instability in cancer, investigates sources of genomic instability due to DNA damage
and/or loss of DNA repair capabilities in cancer and validating actionable therapeutic targets to develop new
clinical approaches that take advantage of such genomic instability for treating cancer. Aim 2, Identify changes
in gene expression and RNA function in cancer, focuses on therapeutic targeting of translation initiation, RNA
biology, and gene expression processes that are co-opted by cancer cells to drive tumor growth and/or
metastasis. Aim 3, Define how signaling pathways in cancer are deregulated, seeks to understand how
cancer cell signaling can be used to target cancer cells, including developing strategies to inhibit oncogenic
and/or cancer stem cell-specific pathways and/or to restore tumor suppression functions. To achieve these aims,
MSB members are supported by extensive expertise available in other UMGCCC programs in translating basic
research findings to the clinic, and by availability of exceptional shared services. The 47 members of the MSB
Program include 34 full members and 13 associate members who conduct cancer-focused research supported
by $9.6 million annual direct cost funding ($13.2 million total), including $1.2 million (12.5%) from NCI and $7.5
million from other peer-reviewed sources. MSB members receive $0.83 million annually from non–peer-reviewed
funding sources. During this funding period, MSB members authored 455 cancer-related publications, of which
13% resulted from intraprogrammatic, 20% from interprogrammatic, and 2% from intra and interprogrammatic
collaborations. A high percentage of publications (58%) are with external investigators, reflecting the high
national impact of the MSB Program and 13% of publications are in journals with an impact factor ≥10. The MSB
Program collaborates with other UMGCCC research programs and engages Community Outreach and
Engagement as a bridge to identify cancer research priorities of our community in the catchment area.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10492057
- **Project number:** 5P30CA134274-15
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE
- **Principal Investigator:** David Joseph Weber
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $34,494
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2008-08-08 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10492057

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10492057, Molecular and Structural Biology Program (5P30CA134274-15). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10492057. Licensed CC0.

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